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This report presents the findings and recommendations of the OECD review of SME and Entrepreneurship Policy in the Slovak Republic. It examines how to address the challenges of stimulating more productive entrepreneurship, supporting enterprise scale-up, stimulating SME exports and global value chain participation, increasing SME innovation and innovative entrepreneurship, and making entrepreneurship more inclusive across the population. The report examines SME and entrepreneurship performance and the business environment for SMEs and entrepreneurship in the Slovak Republic, giving benchmarks against other OECD countries. The report also takes a close look at arrangements to ensure policy leadership, co-ordination and consultation in this field. It examines the government support programmes across areas including SME and entrepreneurship financing, supporting innovation, building SME workforce skills and public procurement. It also examines the east-west divide in SME and entrepreneurship activity and their supporting conditions in the Slovak Republic and how to strengthen regional entrepreneurial ecosystems across the country. Further chapters focus on SME digitalisation and the promotion of self-employment and social entrepreneurship to strengthen the labour market attachment of the Slovak Republic's Roma community.

This publication presents the findings of the OECD review of SME and Entrepreneurship Policy in Viet Nam. It offers an in-depth examination of the performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and entrepreneurship in Viet Nam, the quality of the business environment, and national policies in support of new and small businesses. The report shows that Viet Nam is one of the most globally integrated economies in the world, building its solid growth performance on the attraction of foreign direct investments and export promotion. Viet Nam’s business environment has considerably improved in recent years, although important reforms are still needed in certain policy areas. Viet Nam's SMEs contribute to national employment and national GDP proportionally less than in the OECD area, although official statistics do not take into consideration the large informal sector that mostly consists of self-employed people and micro-enterprises. Viet Nam’s SME and entrepreneurship policies are relatively new, dating back to the early 2000s. In this respect, the 2018 SME Support Law is an important milestone which may help address some of the challenges that are holding back the development of a more vigorous domestic enterprise sector. Key policy priorities in this regard, building better business linkages between multinationals and local enterprises and stronger business development services, are the subjects of two thematic chapters of the report.

The pace and scope of emerging technologies are creating a sea change for governments and for regulators. They challenge economic regulation by blurring the traditional definition of markets, for example, and by transcending administrative boundaries domestically and internationally. At the same time, the digital transformation is an excellent opportunity for regulators themselves to harness the power of data and digital tools to improve regulation and its delivery. Seizing this opportunity will require fit-for-purpose regulatory frameworks and governance arrangements. This report brings together case studies submitted by members of the OECD Network of Economic Regulators that highlight how regulators have analysed and tackled these issues. The case studies span nine countries and a wide range of sectors (communication, transport, energy, environmental protection) and provide concrete examples of how regulators are responding to innovation in the sectors that they oversee.

Nove Smjernice OECD-a za korporativno upravljanje u poduzećima u državnom vlasništvu predstavljaju međunarodno dogovoren standard koji državama pomaže u vrednovanju i unapređivanju svojih vlasničkih funkcija u poduzećima u državnom vlasništvu. Dobro korporativno upravljanje poduzećima u državnom vlasništvu ključni je reformski prioritet u brojnim zemljama. Poboljšana učinkovitost i veća transparentnost u javnom sektoru donose brojne ekonomske prednosti, posebno u zemljama u kojima je državno vlasništvo važno. Osim toga, stvaranje ravnopravnih uvjeta za privatna i javna poduzeća doprinosi stabilnosti i konkurentnosti poslovnog sektora. Smjernice koje su prvotno usvojene 2005. predstavljaju skup dobrih praksi za pravni i regulatorni okvir poduzeća u državnom vlasništvu, profesionalizaciju funkcije državnog vlasništva i sustave korporativnog upravljanja u poduzećima u državnom vlasništvu. Ova nova verzija preporuka razvijena je nakon gotovo deset godina iskustva u njihovoj provedbi te brojnih tematskih i komparativnih istraživanja razvijenih na temelju ranije verzije Smjernica, koja su ukazala na potrebu za revizijom Smjernica te pomogla u njezinoj izradi, osobito u područjima kao što su objavljivanje i transparentnost, tržišno natjecanje u javnom i privatnom sektoru, prakse nadzornih odbora i financiranje poduzeća u državnom vlasništvu.

This report uses systems thinking tools to address pervasive problems in Slovenia's procurement system that the government has struggled to remedy through traditional regulatory means. The report outlines how room for innovation can be created within highly regulated policy domains and how governments can systematically benefit from it. Systems thinking allows for a new understanding of the role of procurement. The report explores potential reforms that could be designed from the bottom-up, to address specific behavioural and structural barriers – such as public perception, risk aversion, accountability and control functions – that cannot be addressed using only a legalistic approach.

The governance of skills systems has always raised a number of challenges for governments. Being at the intersection of education, labour market, industrial and other policy domains, managing skills policies is inherently complex. Addressing these challenges is more than ever crucial as globalisation, technological progress and demographic change are putting daunting pressures on skills systems to ensure that all members of society are equipped with the skills necessary to thrive in a rapidly changing world. Strengthening the Governance of Skills Systems: Lessons from Six OECD Countries provides advice on how to make the governance of skills systems effective. Building on the OECD Skills Strategy 2019, which identified four main challenges of skills systems governance, the report presents examples of how six different countries (Estonia, Germany, Korea, Norway, Portugal and the United States) have responded to one or several of these challenges. It also outlines concrete policy recommendations together with a self-assessment tool which provides guidance to policy makers and stakeholders for designing better skills systems that deliver better skills outcomes.

We live in a period of profound systemic change, and as in similar periods in the past, there is bound to be considerable instability and uncertainty before the new society and economy take shape. We have to identify actions that will shape change for the better, and help to build resilience to the inevitable shocks inherent in, and generated by, the complex system of systems constituted by the economy, society and the environment. These challenges require updating the way policies are devised and implemented, and developing more realistic tools and techniques to design those policies on the basis of appropriate data. In Systemic Thinking for Policy Making world experts from the OECD and International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) pool their expertise and experience to propose new approaches to analysing the interconnected trends and issues shaping today’s and tomorrow’s world. The authors argue that to tackle planetary emergencies linked to the environment, the economy and socio-political systems, we have to understand their systemic properties, such as tipping points, interconnectedness and resilience. They give the reader a precise introduction to the tools and techniques needed to do so, and offer hope that we can overcome the challenges the world is facing.

Successfully managing and administering European Structural Investment Funds (ESIF) rests on the effective governance of the investment process, on the administrative capacity of Managing Authorities, and on the engagement of a diverse range of stakeholders, including beneficiaries. The OECD has developed an analytical framework with four dimensions – people management, organisational management, strategic planning, and framework conditions – to analyse the challenges and capacity gaps confronting Managing Authorities in the administration and management of these funds. Based on a pilot project with three national- and two regional-level Managing Authorities, the study identified a series of common challenges. These include being more strategic and innovative in how staff, processes and programmes are managed; managing the impact of framework conditions on stability and certainty in administrative and investment processes; and needing to ensure that capacity building among Managing Authorities and/or beneficiaries is undertaken at the appropriate scale. Capacity-building Roadmaps were built with each participant. This report recommends concrete actions for actors in the ESIF governance system to build and reinforce the administrative and investment management capacity of Managing Authorities throughout the EU. The findings can also benefit non-EU public actors in managing public investment.

El presente informe mide el impacto en ciudadanos y empresas de las acciones de simplificación administrativa desarrolladas por el Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social. Las cargas administrativas tienen un costo, medido en el tiempo que les lleva a los ciudadanos y las empresas completar formularios y esperar en fila para solicitar o entregar información al gobierno. Usando una adaptación del Modelo de Costeo Estándar, el informe encuentra que las cargas administrativas para los usuarios han disminuido en al menos un 25% gracias a la simplificación y digitalización de trámites. El informe también sugiere cómo el Instituto podría reducir aún más estas cargas. Al promover el uso de trámites en línea, las cargas podrían reducirse en un 11% adicional.

This report considers the innovative use of existing infrastructure and the adoption of emerging digital technologies to optimise the use of road capacity. It focuses on using big data to identify the traffic bottlenecks in real-time and manage peak demand with innovative measures at the local and network levels. The report examines the effectiveness and efficiency of a range of instruments for active traffic demand management and also considers application issues. It includes a review of the latest road pricing technologies used in several Asian cities.

This document aims to support cities in setting road safety targets and to monitor progress in improving urban road safety. Pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists account for nearly 80% of urban traffic fatalities. Cities should thus intensify efforts to improve the safety of vulnerable road users. This document presents traffic safety indicators for different road user groups collected in 31 cities to facilitate the evaluation, monitoring and benchmarking of road safety outcomes. It places a particular attention on measuring the risk of fatality per unit distance travelled.

This report focuses on the challenges of governing infrastructure investment and public-private partnerships (PPPs) at the subnational level. Subnational governments – cities and regions – play a vital role in the infrastructure landscape. Infrastructure needs in energy, transport, water and telecommunications are substantial, estimated at USD 6.3 trillion per year between 2016 and 2030. In a tight fiscal environment, it is critical to diversify sources of financing for infrastructure investment and PPPs represent an alternative to traditional government procurement with the potential to improve value for money. However, PPPs are complex and sometimes risky arrangements that require capacity that is not always readily available in government, in particular at the subnational level. This report examines the challenges of using PPPs at the subnational level and ways to address them. It does so by focusing on three case studies: subnational PPPs in France, local Private Finance Initiative (PFI) projects in the United Kingdom, and PPPs in Virginia (United States).

The relevance and economic implications of public procurement – which represents 12% of GDP and one-third of government expenditures in the OECD area - make it a powerful tool for improving public service delivery. At the same time, governments are increasingly using their purchasing power to pursue strategic objectives in different policy areas such as sustainability, innovation or providing support to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Making it easier for SMEs to access public procurement opportunities improves the general economic environment, promotes inclusive growth and supports principles such as equal treatment, open access and effective competition. This report takes stock of the approaches adopted in 37 OECD and non-OECD countries to help SMEs perform better in public procurement markets, including removing barriers to their participation. The report also describes the main features of a public procurement system that benefits both the public sector and SMEs.

This report looks at how scientific advice can best support crisis management during transnational crises, such as those provoked by natural hazards or pandemics. Scientific advice has an important role to play in all phases of the crisis management cycle - preparedness, response and recovery.  It can be particularly valuable during the sense-making period when a crisis occurs and develops.  However, this value is dependent on the quality and timeliness of the advice and most importantly its relevance to the decisions that crisis managers and policy-makers have to make during a crisis. Generating rigorous scientific advice requires access to relevant data, information and expertise, across scientific disciplines and across borders. Ensuring this advice is useful requires effective connections between scientific advisory processes and crisis management mechanisms, including at the international level.

SMEs play an important role for economic growth and social inclusion in Indonesia. Based on data from the Ministry of Co-operatives and SMEs, Indonesian SMEs account for nearly 97% of domestic employment and for 56% of total business investment. 
Indonesia has a Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) Law and a specific ministry dedicated to co-operatives and SMEs. The wealth of public programmes for SMEs could be streamlined, and more could be done to support innovative companies able to generate productive jobs and participate in international markets. The development and implementation of an SME strategy would be instrumental to improve the overall coherence of national policy measures, objectives and measurable targets. 
The review of SME and entrepreneurship policy of Indonesia is part of a peer-reviewed series, by the OECD Working Party on SMEs and Entrepreneurship, which aims to improve the design, implementation and effectiveness of national SME and entrepreneurship policies.

In countries affected by the illegal wildlife trade, corruption is a key enabler and facilitator. Failure to address this corruption, and the institutional and governance gaps that allow it to take place, make tackling the illegal wildlife trade a significant challenge. This report provides a structured analysis of how corruption facilitates wildlife crime based on research in four source and transit countries in East and Southern Africa. It offers a series of specific recommendations targeted at national governments, donors, and intergovernmental organisations to address the issues of corruption and the illegal wildlife trade.